_ethrty-Andy_ 2132 Report post Posted August 12, 2014 (edited) After having done a few track days in my E34 V12 Touring, i have decided that its about time that i start to build a proper racecar for events around the place Things i have learnt using the V12 car - RWD is fun - Auto is not - Suspension setup is important on the track - V12s cost WAY too much when you abuse them - and fuel to tow said 1880kg E34 + Trailer is too much. So in the month or so that followed, I decided that it was time to build a little race car on a budget and get into some more events, before i decide to get more serious still. so i set some goals during the build, 1/ Must be as close to 1000kg as possible - so i dont need another tow wagon, and can use my V12 E34 2/ Must be 5 stud, and capable of running low offset wheels, so i can share wheels with other BMWs 3/ Budget is $2k starting from absolutely nothing, read, that includes purchase of car and any mods. Sales of useless parts can reinstall budget $$ 4/ Preferably Calypsot Red to match the rest of my cars, and that its my favourite colour At the time i had a little white E30 316i Manual sitting here, which was tempting (and i brought it for very little), but then decided that it was going to take a good chunk of the budget to convert it to 5 stud, albiet cheaper than buying a second set of wheels and tyres. and i would still have a 1600cc in the front of it. a good wee engine in its own right, but if im going to get a bit more serious about racing that will never do and im sure i would loose interest. about a week or so later, the company i work for moved to a new premesis. On the day we moved there and I had a look around and out the back, my eyes lit up. out in the yard at the back sitting against a wall was a E36 318ti in calypsot red, and a single axle car trailer, amoungst some other stuff Seeing as we needed the yard, it needed to be cleared. most of it just scrap crap, but anyways, made a deal with the owner, and ended up taking the Compact and the Trailer home for $100. yes. $100, not $1000. Yes, both trailer and the car were deregistered due to age, and the E36 wouldnt start. But its still a deal by anyones standards. $100 down, $1900 to go That photo is back at home, but to get the compact home I loaded it onto the trailer, and quickly discovered that single axle trailer on little biscuit 13" 155 tyres just wasnt going to work. I live about 2 minutes from work, so a slow drive of about 5 with one very sketchy loaded trailer. Thought briefly about converting the trailer to dual axle and puttine bigger tyres on it etc, but then i sold it for $850 so i walked away happy. $850 up, $2750 to go So there it sat for a wee while. deciding what i wanted to do with it and make a plan. Decided that for a start, I had better get the car running again for a start, whatever was going to happen to it. Spent an afternoon on it, and traced it to water in the DME, a fairly common issue on the E36, they are put in a very vulnerable place on this model, on the firewall, access from the engine bay. Water gets inside from the windscreen and its all over. That was most likely why the car was parked up i guess. Pulled that out along with the other bits that make up the EWS system, and put a new set in that i had lying around from a 318iS i wrecked years ago, put the freshly charged battery back in, and away it went on the 5 year old petrol, so took it for a little drive. Seemed to run pretty well for a car been sitting that long. getting it running may have been a bad thing though.... i very quickly realised the M42 wasnt going to cut the mustard. I then thought back to a E36 318i manual i had at one point, and yep decided it was going to have to have something in the engine department too. Realistically.... there was only one thing to do... lol and a few days later it was sold (I then found out from a friend on here that you can remove the nose off an E36 just like E32 and E34. That will save some time next time, and make it on a lot less sketchy angel!!) $350 up, $3100 to go.. and had a chassis! Time to start looking for an engine. With a reasonable bit of money in the bank, its tempting to then use that good luck and go and get a really good engine. I decided however that engines are easier to swap out and sell later down the line than suspension is, so i want to spend the extra on the suspension later. So i brought this M50TUB25, it is from an E34. usually buy whole cars for the price, but i did a guy a favour buying it, he just needed it gone, and the saved time having to pull one out, i can get on with other things. My little boy Ty also approves as you can see! $500 down, $2600 to go The hunt started to find all the E36 bits to convert this engine to fit an E36. Got a few offers to swap my E34 bits for E36 bits. But im not stupid, i know what E34 M50 bits are worth. Ended up deciding it was easier to do what i should have done in the first place, and buy an E36 engine and then shortly after sold the E34 engine off. $500 down, $850 up $2950 to go... and i now have an engine and a car, and three transmissions to sell, anyone for a Jatco LOL. the $2k budget is looking very good at the moment! And then, last night, decided it was time to start prepping this engine to go in the hole, because i have heaps of brand new parts here from when i last did a Pelican order (i basically just fill the box, why wouldnt you when shipping is the same and its so cheap!!) Replaced water pump, thermostat, and changed the thermostat housing to a metal type one that I have sitting here, will also do the sump gasket, check the oil pump nut is nice and snug, and change rear main seal before the engine goes into the hole, so i dont have to do it later, can be a bit of a pain doing it with engine in place, so might as well do them all now. Hold me to it if i dont say i did it!!! I then pushed the 750iL out of the garage that I am currently wrecking as that is pretty much stripped now, and the compact came back inside. Still to find a suitable manual swap for this, have a few leads, prices all too high, people think thier stuff is worth too much, most are asking same or more than i can buy a whole donor E36 for. Maybe i need to start spending money instead of making it though lol. More updates to come! Edited August 12, 2014 by _Ethrty-Andy_ 8 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_BRS_ 209 Report post Posted August 12, 2014 Looks like you're off to a great start Andy! Will be keeping a close eye on progress! 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Allanw 1071 Report post Posted August 12, 2014 Jeez, by the time you've finished you'll have a race car and about $13K at the rate you're going! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
euroriffic 607 Report post Posted August 12, 2014 Nice work! Suspension will be the killer for price, even just for replacing all bushes will be about $1000 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qube 3570 Report post Posted August 12, 2014 what kind of person sells a car and a trailer for $100?? good deal for you anyway. look forward to see how you get on with this. Calypsorot YAY! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kingkarl 136 Report post Posted August 12, 2014 Great read Andy Keep 'em coming Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_ethrty-Andy_ 2132 Report post Posted August 13, 2014 what kind of person sells a car and a trailer for $100?? good deal for you anyway. look forward to see how you get on with this. Calypsorot YAY! well, scrap metal would have been marginally more, and the owner of this company is very good to his employees, was only too happy to help me out. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sonic_attack 89 Report post Posted August 13, 2014 Nice work. I must have bought 15+ cars over the years for $100 or less. Its not that uncommon. Amongst my best scores were a "trekka" for a tray of lion red and an old tin tank XR500 for a packet of tobacco. Lol Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_ethrty-Andy_ 2132 Report post Posted August 13, 2014 Nice work! Suspension will be the killer for price, even just for replacing all bushes will be about $1000 Yes you are right, some things like springs i will probably go second hand (had a set coming, long story, but they arent coming here now.), shocks will have to be new as with bushings. havent checked the bushings and also ball joints up front etc yet, so could be a lot of hidden expenditure there yet. Tyres also need to come out of the budget too, though i have plenty of spare wheels etc here i can chew through, which is why i wanted it to be 5 stud. So its still going to be tight, but it aint fun if it aint tight... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
allan 295 Report post Posted August 13, 2014 Hi Andy, Another convert haha if you want some ideas try here http://www.318ti.org/forum. Also the e36 ti came out with a 323 M52 as standard but only in left hand drive best of luck with your project. How much of the interior will you be stripping out as they have some faults which I'm no doubt you are aware of. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_ethrty-Andy_ 2132 Report post Posted August 13, 2014 Hi Andy, Another convert haha if you want some ideas try here http://www.318ti.org/forum. Also the e36 ti came out with a 323 M52 as standard but only in left hand drive best of luck with your project. How much of the interior will you be stripping out as they have some faults which I'm no doubt you are aware of. Not sure what you mean by faults, Im pretty new to all E36s, this is only my third one, and the first that has the intention of being kept. Deciding as i go what i am pulling out and leaving in The compact has a different dashboard to other E36, looks a lot more like an E30, that will be staying, though have taken passengers airbag out. maybe the surround for the gearknob will go back in, would like to retain electric windows and need somewhere to put hazard light switch, so its the obvious answer.Will be stock drivers seat for now. Glovebox will probably go back in just so dash looks a bit cleaner, they weigh bugger all. Airbag steering wheel will be going in the bin for a non airbag Momo wheel i have lying around. Passengers seatbelt will stay though there is no seat, maybe i will put one back in at a later date Will also make up some door cards from acrylic or maybe checkerplate (-sp?), will also need to make a drivers side floor pan thing for your heels, so will be buying some checker plate anyways. Basically everything behind the front seats will be gone, plus all little bits of trim on pillars etc, carpet is out, rear heater vent ducting etc etc so if anyone out there needs E36 compact parts, let me know ASAP. kinda tempting to take it down to my scrappy and weigh it before the engine and gearbox goes in just for interests sake. havent decided yet. Will post another update again a bit later tonight when i have finished pulling everything out Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
handgrenade 189 Report post Posted August 14, 2014 Go for fibreglass resin sheets for door cards .. As light as carbon fibre .. Easier to cut to shape and you can easily mold shapes if required just get some mats of glass fibre and apply resin. Just like paper mache Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_ethrty-Andy_ 2132 Report post Posted August 15, 2014 Not too much of an update but anyways... On Wednesday night i got all the interior that i dont need out. Found $1.30 ($1.30 up, $2951.30 to go haha) I should really be deducting the price of beers consumed....... Anyways, took all the interior i stripped out down to work and weighed it for interest sake to be honest, thought it would be a bit more, but thats still a fair bit!! See what else i can achieve this weekend hmm Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
handgrenade 189 Report post Posted August 15, 2014 Sound deadening? Dry ice time! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_ethrty-Andy_ 2132 Report post Posted August 16, 2014 Sound deadening? Dry ice time! yep probably will at some stage, but theres not that much in a compact, also need to keep a bit of weight in the back, with a heavier engine than stock up front, it will probably be a bit front heavy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_ethrty-Andy_ 2132 Report post Posted October 8, 2014 (edited) So, was full steam head with this project, progress has slipped a bit in last month, cash was diverted to pick up a set of wheels and tyres for my E30 Cab, those wheels just dont come up so i had to jump! Anyways, back on track now, and ended up picking up that E34 on throwing stars that was posted on here in another thread, decided i was a bit ahead of budget, so could splash out on some nice wheels for it. I'm not sure what they cost me yet because i havent sold the E34 they were attached to, but will update cost tracking later! Obviously suspension is still a bit mucked up till my new stuff from Dave is ordered, but gives an idea of what it will look like. Hoping to get away with the E34 tyres on there for now, and chew them out before putting some better tyres on later. For those trainspotters amoung you, yes I know that is the left hand side wheels on the right hand side of the car.... realised when 3 were already on, just left it like that, will need to come off when i do suspension anyways so will change around then I then started to make a drivers side floor pan, the E36 floor is not level and has molded carpet. there are also some wires running in this area that need to be protected. I dont have any progress pictures, but i started out with a rectangle piece of aluminium reinforced perspex that is usually used for heavy duty signage on the side of buildings and whatnot, and then trimmed that down to fit. It is bolted down using the front seat bolts and the factory accelerator clip. Will see how this goes for a start, but im thinking it might get a bit slippery if raining at the track etc, so i may put down some sort of non slip coating on it yet, but being ally perspex it weighs next to nothing! Also sold the headlights off it, someone wanted a set urgent so they took the ones of this, then i decided i dont really need them any way, and made some mesh blanks for them. Decided while i was working on the front to first remove the rest of the aircon system that resides in the engine bay, and then weighed it down at work, that was 7kg, not including the weight of the AUX fan as that will be reinstalled or at least one in its place, that would be cheating!! No pic of that of course, but does have a picture of the mesh blanks i made, i think it looks pretty cool. This side probably serves no real purpose, but the other side should give better airflow to the airbox. Will be keeping the indicators, i think they are reasonably essential, especially if i do need to drive it on the road to re gas or whatever. Will have to come up with a way to mount them, as they rely on the headlights being there for mounting usually. You can also see my tow hook mod, just drilled a hole in the trim so i can keep both on and still look reasonably tidy. Things still to buy Suspension - Dave at wheelspacers.co.nz will be hooking me up with a set of coilovers for it Manual gearbox conversion and a new radiator and then there should be plenty of room in the budget still to have all bushes replaced front and rear, and possibly a new diff if this one turns out to be inappropriate Hoping to have it all completed to a state I can race it by the end of next month.... pressure is on. Edited October 8, 2014 by _Ethrty-Andy_ 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kulgan 1042 Report post Posted October 8, 2014 (edited) Awesome Andy. What a cool project. Looking forward to watching this progress. Edited October 8, 2014 by kulgan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ahmedsinc 414 Report post Posted October 8, 2014 T-stars look better in reverse IMO. What ratio did the auto ti's use? A 3.64 E30 325i manual diff ought to be fairly good for the track, means you can run with the larger medium case axles too This looks like fun! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nobimmer 694 Report post Posted October 8, 2014 Hey mate I have a set of expired harnesses that I can't use any more and a spare momo corsa seat if they are any use to you, will make a massive difference. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qube 3570 Report post Posted October 8, 2014 T-stars look better in reverse IMO. Agreed. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_ethrty-Andy_ 2132 Report post Posted October 9, 2014 T-stars look better in reverse IMO. What ratio did the auto ti's use? A 3.64 E30 325i manual diff ought to be fairly good for the track, means you can run with the larger medium case axles too This looks like fun! Have quite a few here, and i havent actually looked to see this one has yet, it needs to come out anyways when doing rear bushes, so will find out then and swap over if need be. Hey mate I have a set of expired harnesses that I can't use any more and a spare momo corsa seat if they are any use to you, will make a massive difference. Seat sounds really good! Harness's, I will need to find out if they are eligible to be used in intermarques, that is as serious as this car is going to get for the forseeable future, you may already know?? Agreed. I can see why you would say that, would make them spin the same way as Porsche 996 Turbo wheels Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qube 3570 Report post Posted November 9, 2014 any update on this? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_ethrty-Andy_ 2132 Report post Posted November 11, 2014 any update on this? not really, a few bits here and there, but nothing worth posting at this stage! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
huff3r 347 Report post Posted November 12, 2014 Harness's, I will need to find out if they are eligible to be used in intermarques, that is as serious as this car is going to get for the forseeable future, you may already know?? Harness's can be re-lifed now to twice the stated expiry, as long as they are in good condition. Depend if they are expired on date, or have been re-lifed already and expired again. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nobimmer 694 Report post Posted November 13, 2014 Got a couple sets, have only expired on the tag they have literally done two track days. Let me know next time you come by Auckland 021751262 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
